Watch the World Tear Us Apart
by fairytaleofdust
Summary: Donald Ressler has spent years hunting down the infamous Raymond Reddington until he finds out that he's not just hunting Raymond Reddington, he's hunting Elizabeth Keen, too. *This story is co-written by me and theblacklister23 xD*
1. Chapter 1

A/N - So I'm proud to say this fic is co-written with Kiley (theblacklister23) and you all should go and check her stories too! Thanks for reading and make sure to write your reviews!

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He was so concentrated in his papers that he didn't even notice the people around him starting to gather their things to go.

"Hey, Ressler, it's 7pm, man. Let's go grab a drink?" Agent Mojtabai said next to him, and he was startled by the man's hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, um, no, thanks Aram. I'll stay in for a few more minutes."

"A few more minutes, or hours? Last time you said that I found you here sleeping on your desk at 6am."

"I'll go home this time, Aram. I promise." Aram had already given up on him. Every night it was the same thing. It was an endless hunt. Most of the FBI agents had already given up, and that would be just one more of those cases that remain on the most wanted list, but no one gives it too much thought, to be honest. Not for Ressler, though. He was relentless. He wouldn't give up on that search.

He had been assigned to find top criminal Raymond Reddington 5 years ago, and it became an obsession to him. Every day and every night he would search for clues, interview suspects and witnesses, follow leads, real and false. It was the bane of him.

In these years, he lost a lot. He lost Audrey, his longtime fianceé. She couldn't handle it anymore, and left him. He moved to a small apartment in a dirty neighborhood, where he had a stove but never used it, living out of canned and frozen food. He lost weight, lost focus, lost his mind. Now, five years later, he was losing his will.

Truth was that he looked at all that information in front of him and all he saw was repeated information, nothing new or breaking that would give him somewhere to go. He was stuck.

He thought he knew all about Raymond Reddington, but it was impossible to know everything about him. The guy was a mastermind of crime. Respectful, he would give him that.

In the beginning, he saw it was an opportunity for his career to take off. He liked to imagine himself in press conferences, receiving awards and promotions. Now, it was a matter of self-respect. He grew tired of Reddington mocking him, every time one step ahead of him.

He looked up and saw the war room empty, only his lamp on. It was a sad scene that he was already accustomed to. He took a deep breath, pressed his fingers on his eyes, and noticed he was tired, so gave it up and decided to go home. That's when the phone rang.

He allowed the phone to ring 3 times before picking it up, so he wouldn't sound desperate.

"Agent Ressler?" he said, and the sound of panting came from the other side of the call.

"Hello? Who is this?"

"Agent Ressler? My…. My name is Elizabeth Keen. You.. have to help me!"

Elizabeth Keen. Elizabeth Keen. He sat down on his desk again and ruffled through his papers. He knew that name; he had seen it before. He found one file tagged with her name, and opened it. A beautiful woman on a mugshot looked back at him. She was Reddington's associate; And she was calling him.

"Keen? What… where are you? What do you want?"

"I escaped…. Reddington… I want to turn myself in… but first I need to see you, alone. No FBI, no cops, nothing official, for now. Just you."

Ressler's stomach turned, and he felt a mix of excitement and fear. What could she possibly want that couldn't be said in an interview room here at the post office? Could this be a trap? Whether or not it was a trap, he saw it as an opportunity. If it wasn't, she would probably give him important information about Reddington's whereabouts. If it was, he was ready to turn the trap around.

"Where do you want to meet?" he said, picking up a pen to note down the address she gave him.

"Make sure to come alone. If I see you with someone else, I'll run and you will never see me again."

"I'll be alone," he said, but she had already hung up. He stood there, phone on his ear, stunned. After 5 years, a lead. A real lead. Maybe all his sacrifices weren't for nothing. He wanted to call Audrey, tell her he's got a new lead, but then remembered she didn't care anymore. She was probably having dinner with her new boyfriend somewhere far away, not even thinking about him anymore. He was alone. He chuckled at the thought, remembering how emphatic Keen had been about him being alone. 'don't worry, lady, I'm the only one who still cares about this crap. I'm sure as hell alone'.

He took his jacket, and then put a hand on his gun to check if it was there on his holster before moving towards the elevator.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Liz sat in the diner, her fresh cup of coffee hot and steaming out of the cup. It was dark and rainy outside. She was glad she didn't have to walk far from her safe house in this type of weather.

She tapped her fingers on the edge of the hot mug, waiting for him to show up. She wasn't sure what this Agent Ressler looked like, what he was like, or anything. All she knew is that this was the man who was hunting her down, this was the man who wanted to have her chained up in some box somewhere and running...running wasn't good enough any more. He was closing in on her and she wanted to close in on him before things went to far.

The bell dinged as the door opened, she looked up to find a younger man with light hair and freckles walking inside. He had his hood up on his jacket, but didn't seem to have his badge on or anything, which was good. Part of her felt that he was just going to turn on her any moment.

When he saw her, he started walking over towards her. He first realized that she looked younger and far more innocent in person than she did in her wanted poster. Her face looked fierce and pained in the wanted poster but now she looked like any other young woman sitting in a diner on a rainy night.

"Agent Ressler," she stood up putting her hand out to greet him, it was a surprise how courteous she was to him. He gladly shook her hand and sat down in front of her.

The waitress came over with her notepad and quickly asked, "What can I get for you, sir?"

"Coffee's fine, black please." he said with a smile as she scribbled it down on her paper.

"Coming right up!"

"Thank you." he said and then turned his direction to Liz who stroked her scar nervously as he sat across from her. "So, Keen, why all the sudden do you want to meet? You better bet this is a good reason, too, because if not, I'll put you in cuffs. I've got a pair out in my car."

"Agent Ressler, please." she sighed, "I came to offer a deal with you. It will benefit the both of us, I'm telling you-"

"Isn't that what everyone who offers a deal says?"

"Listen. Please." she said and finally caught his attention. "I have a list."

"Yeah, we've got one and you're one it." Ressler said with snark and she just rolled her eyes, if only he knew how set up things were. If only he knew that she was no criminal, just born into the wrong place at the wrong time.

"I have a better one. It's called the Blacklist." she said, "The baddest of the bunch. The are so bad that the FBI doesn't even know about them. In exchange for the list, I get an immunity deal, but by me helping you. I will help you solve these cases. I'm sure you saw my case file, I am a highly trained forensic profiler." she said as he nodded. "So what do you say?"

"Well I have to run this by the FBI first, It's not that simple, Keen." Ressler said as the waitress brought his coffee over quickly. He took a sip, hissing at the burning sensation it gave him from the hot coffee.

She scoffed at him, it's coffee, of course it's hot. She got her stuff together, it was basically her burner phone and her wallet with some cash in it. "You talk to them and then meet me back here on Tuesday night, same time, same place." and she got up and walked away leaving Ressler stunned.

"Hey" he stood up and called her, then looked around at the people observing them. they didn't care much, and went back to their business as she went back to him. "What about Reddington? Is he in this list too?"

She grinned and took his coffee from him, taking a sip and then putting it on the table. "I have a better deal when it comes to Reddington. You'll see. For now, that's my offer. Check with your people. then get back to me. See you" she winked and then turned around, leaving the diner for good this time. He just stood there and observed as the door closed, ringing the little bell on top of it. Then, he sat down, feeling the warmth from his cup of coffee as he thought of this woman's proposal. He would go all the way to catch Reddington, but how far would the bureau? How was he going to convince Harold Cooper that this was a smart move?

He looked up and noticed a man across from him was staring. This was a weird place. He finished his coffee, took money out of his pocket and left it on the table, before going towards the door.


	2. Chapter 2

Harold Cooper kept looking at him seriously as he finished telling what happened to him the previous day. The deputy director of the task force raised his eyebrows, taking in all he had patiently heard from his agent.

"And you're sure this woman is legit?" He asked, writing he name on his notepad. Resslee shook his head.

She's records of working beside Reddington. It's on her file.

"And why help you now? Why come up with this list?"

Ressler frowned at the question. She didn't tell him, and he didn't bother asking. Thinking back now, it would have been a relevant question. He knew little about what her intentions were and how that would take him to Reddington, but to him mind, any risk is worth it if it leads him to solve his case

"I really didn't ask, but I'm sure that..." Cooper stopped him right there.

" I can't approve an action like this based on a huntch, Ressler. you should've taken something more concrete. What if I allow you tor pursue this list and she's just playing you? "He thought back at the woman he dealt with at the diner. She could easily play him. They way she took his coffee from him to take a sip and he did nothing was proof of that. But deep down he wanted to believe that she wasn't playing him. For some reason, he believed in her.

"Cooper, with all due respect, but in five years this is the best lead we've got! We can't let this go like this. We have to at least give her a shot, even if we take precautions."

"Bring her as an informant, then. Tell her to surrender"

"She said she can't, not now"

Cooper was more and more suspicious of this woman. He didn't like the sound of the story she had told Ressler and they way he was about her. He was concerned for his safety, but most of all his sanity. this case had taken its toll on him.

"Look, give me 1 week. I'll see what she means with this list, check the names on it and then we see where it can take us. If it's a dead end, I'll arrest her myself"

"Oh, you will, or I'll take you off this case." He took a deep breath and looked at Ressler, still concerned. "Fine, you have one week, but I want constant reports of your meetings with her. Don't go rogue on me, Ressler. You know this case is not worth it.

Ressler walked out of Cooper's office pulling out his cellphone. He had already dialed Keen's number before he realized it. Part of his brain was scolding him; why the hell was he so eager to be calling a criminal? The other part of him backed it up as work. It was just work.

"Keen?" He asked as the phone clicked on, he heard her on the other end.

"Agent Ressler, this isn't...the best time." she said out of breath, "I have to go."

"No, Liz, wait-" he said urgently, he called her Liz...he wasn't sure how that one...uh...slipped out.

She's a criminal, he thought, think of her as that.

"Meet me tonight at the diner. 6 pm." she said in a hurry, "I know I said Tuesday but just...I'll see you tonight." And she hung up.

Ressler pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at the dead line. He wondered where she was? What was she doing? Was she okay?

Shaking his head he decided to go about his day until 6 pm came.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

This time it was him who arrived earlier at the diner. He was there since 5.30 and it was starting to annoy the waitresses, because he didn't order anything. Now it was 5 to 6 and he was impatiently looking at the door when the old woman named Susie approached him for the 5th time.

"Are you getting anything, sweetie?" she was trying to be nice, but her voice was shaky and he could see she was pissed.

"Just coffee, please" he pursed his lips into a smile, and she did the same, raising her eyebrows. she scribbled something on her notepad and then went away. A few seconds later, she came back with a cup and poured coffee into it. "If there's anything else you need, hon, please let us know."

She was about to leave when he called her back.

"Actually. There is. I was here yesterday, do you remember?" She looked up for a moment, trying to recall.

"Vaguely".

"I was with a woman. tall, slim, brunette."

"Oh yes, you were with Lizzie." she opened a smile, as if she knew Keen very well.

"So you know her, then."

"Sure. She's come here ever since she was a little lump. With her father, god bless his soul."

"Is he dead?" he asked, trying to remember if there was something about her family in her file.

"Oh, God, no! Ray is very much alive. But his memory is... you know... a bit weak. Poor Lizzie, she suffers so much because of that. She comes here sometimes and we chat."

He saw that as a golden opportunity to know more about her. He was about to ask another question when the woman looked up and opened her arm.

"Lizzie, darling! Me and your boyfriend here were just talking about you." He turned to see Elizabeth Keen coming into the restaurant. She had her hair on her face, unlike yesterday. He took a deep breath when he saw her, and felt a bit nervous.

"Hey Suz. He's not my boyfriend. Can you be a doll and get me one of those amazing omellettes only Johnny knows how to make? I'm starving."

The woman smiled and rubbed her hand on Keen's back, gently. "Coming right up, sweetie."

Elizabeth smiled at the woman, but her smile fainted the minute she turned to him. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Just chit chatting" he said, trying to look normal.

"I know what you were doing. You were going to interrogate Susie."

"I was just asking questions, being friendly. I'm not here on official business."

"Well, don't. Stop asking her questions. This woman is innocent and the nicest I know, so stay away from her." She was firm, and he knew she meant it when she said she cared about Susie.

There was an awkward silence between them when Susie brought her the omellette, and asked one more time if he wanted anything. When he said no, she sighed and went away.

"She was telling me about your father..." he felt a kick under the table, and looked up to see her with fire in her eyes.

"Don't ask about my father, or the deal is off, understand?"

"Okay. Okay. I'm here to say that I got one week to prove that your deal is solid. So you have to give me something real, or else we're off."

She stopped to think, and then took a bite of her meal. After she chewed it and swallowed, she said.

"The Stewmaker. He makes people disappear, literally. You probably never heard of him, that's how good he is. Find him, and your director will see what I mean."

"Is there anything else you can tell me about this Stewmaker?" he asked, taking out his notepad and flipping to an empty page. She smirked.

"If you want me to do all the job, then I don't need you. Now go, you're ruinning my dinner" she waved him away, and he, one more time, was left without reaction. He just stood up from the booth and walked away.

Outside, he looked through the window and saw her welcoming Susie to the table, with an open and honest smile. Looking at her through that point of view, he could actually believe that she was a good girl, a nice person. He felt his heart skip a beat, and frowned at it. Then, he just turned and kept walking to his car.

He decided to go straight back to the office. There was no need to go back to his dark and dreary apartment, where he'd be reminded of the lonely life he lived. He tried not to dwell on it too much, for the fact he put his heart and soul into his work.

Walking into the post office, he ran into Samar and Aram who were walking out together. "Agent Ressler, what are you doing?" Aram asked looking at him confused.

"Yeah, I thought you went home already. You need rest, it's late." Samar said readjusting the bag on her shoulder.

"I've got a couple of things I gotta finish up here first," he nodded towards them, "I'll catch you guys tomorrow." he said walking away towards his office.

The rest of the night he spent researching leads on the Stewmaker. He was tired and achy from lack of sleep. He needed to rest but he knew his constant insomnia would keep him awake. He was taken out of his lethargic thoughts when his cell phone dinged.

Picking up the phone he saw he had a text from Keen saying:

 ** _Let me guess, you're stumped? Take a break, meet me at the park in the morning. -L_**


	3. Chapter 3

Liz sat impatiently on the cool park bench. The weather was cooling down, luckily the sun was out to give her some warmth. She really wished she wore a warmer jacket than just this thin fleece thing. She had kept her hands in her pocket, taking her hands out ever now and then to check her watch. He was late.

"Damn him." she scoffed, "I tell him to be here by-"

"Liz, sorry I'm late...I over-slept." he said walking fast towards her. He wasn't wearing his usual suit jacket and tie, he was in a coat and jeans with a scarf around his neck. He called her Liz, surprisingly, she liked it a lot better than 'Keen'. She felt like an actual human when he called her 'Liz'. She felt more than just what they set her up to be.

"It's fine," she sighed, "How are you?" she asked as he sat next to her.

"Uh, I'm fine." he said not expecting her to ask her that, he figured she's shut him out about anything non-business related again. "How are you?"

"Great," she lied, "I just wanted to apologize for flipping out at you yesterday about Susie. She's basically the last thing I have left that treats me like an actual person," she laughed with a sad smile, "She told me you were nothing but nice to her."

"Keen," here we go again with 'Keen', she thought, "I'm not looking to arrest you right now. I want to get this case rolling and prove to my boss that I can do this. I've been talking a big game about hunting Reddington down my whole career. This...this is the first time I've actually got somewhere. I need this as much as you do."

"So your boss, he's okay with this?" she gestured between the two of them, "Their best agent just out with some...criminal?"

"Well, you aren't gonna try and shoot me now, are you?" he raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk.

"I will if I have to," she said with seriousness and his smile faded, "Just kidding!" she broke out in laughter, "I won't shoot you. Loosen up a bit, you're so uptight." she said poking his arm.

"Uptight?" he raised an eyebrow at her, "Is that your profile on me? You were a profiler, weren't you now?"

She hummed, thinking for a moment, "Uptight. Fueled by an inner rage. Capable of the occasional moment of tenderness that likely brings on the desire to stay up all night watching Asian p***." she finished with a smile and saw he looked mildly amused.

"Not quite," he said with a smirk.

"My turn" he said, and turned to stay right in front of her, his blue eyes deep into hers. She felt breathless for a bit and feared that he might have noticed it.

"What? You are going to profile me?" she tried to sound scornful, but her eyes just couldn't let his. Her heart was beating fast and she was feeling really stupid.

"You have a big secret. Something that determines your whole life. You flinch when you call yourself a criminal, so you don't like the denomination, which makes sense, most criminals don't think they are doing wrong, but you..." He stopped and analysed her a litle bit more, and she felt her stomach revolve. How could he know her so little and see so much?

"you fear it, it's as if this big thing you keep is the only thing that keeps you where you are. Why won't you let it go?" He frowned, genuinely asking her. For a split second, she wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to trust him and let him know. But she didn't. Instead, she leaned and kissed him on the lips.

She lingered for a few seconds, but he didn't respond. He was too shocked to do or say anything. He put his hands behind, away from her so she leaned back, ashamed.

"Sorry. I don't know what came to me"

He kept looking at her, perplexed, but then cleaned his throat and tried to change the subject.

"So, what do you have on The Stewmaker to give me?"

She couldn't really find her voice, she felt little...small even, next to him because of the kiss. She didn't expect him to act so...well...uptight about it.

Back to business, she thought. So much for being treated like an actual person for once.

"I know...I know he's related to Hector Lorca. I was involved with a case involving Lorca when I was with the FBI before things went...south." He noticed the way she acted when she talked about her turning to a criminal career. He started to think that this was not meant to happen but kept his mouth shut. After that kiss, he had himself questioning just about everything. He didn't know why he was feeling these things for a...criminal. But was she really a criminal? She wasn't bad. Far from it. She seemed harmless and kind. She had a heart, she wasn't what those papers said about her.

"Where can I find this Lorca guy?" he asked as she handed him a file folder from her bag.

"He's going into FBI custody today, if you're lucky, you won't miss the grand escape he'll have. He's connected to the Stewmaker because all of the bodies Hector's killed, the stewmaker takes care of them. Try not to miss the transfer. Once he's gone, it's the last you'll ever hear of the Stewmaker." Liz said firmly.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was actually easy to get a hold of Lorca. It pays off being well connected within the agency. Ressler was not one of many friends, but he knew the right people.

He met Lorca in the transport truck right before he got transferred to jail. He had 10 minutes with the guy, which ended up being more than enough.

"We may have a friend in common" he said as he entered the truck sitting in front of the man in shackles, and Lorca looked at him with despise.

"I doubt it" he said, measuring every inch of Ressler. He held his pose and said:

"The Stewmaker. I know he's made a lot of your problems disappear " he emphasized the word _problems_ , and raised an eyebrown to ensure Lorca he knew what he was talking. The prisioner didn't say a word.

Ressler waited a minute before making his proposal. "Tell me where to find him and maybe I can cut you a deal." The man looked up to him with the corner of his eye and he just stood there, looking bleak.

"If you know about The Stewmaker, we have more than a friend in common" he said, and Ressler knew he meant Liz. She was his CI and it was his job to protect her identity.

"I don't think we do" it was his turn to say it. The man moved slowly in his limitations, making the chains cling and drag on the floor.

"The thing is, my friend, if you're here, then he already knows you're on to him. And your friend, the one who opened the mouth, is probably already in one of his baths."

Ressler knew about the methods of the Stewmaker - a bathtub full of acid, so the victim would literally be reduced to a stew. But what did that guy mean with "he knows"?

Lorca approached him, and with his face so close he could smell his awful breath, and stare inside his dark terrifying eyes, he said:

"It's a pity. She's so pretty, don't you think? Maybe he can save you her blue eyes".

Ressler listened to that and little by little his heart stopped beating, his eyes widened in fear and hurry. He left the truck with less than he knew about the Stewmaker, but with the fear that she might have been captured. He couldn't just ignore that as a madman's blank threat, so even though he could ruin the entire operation, he took the risk.

"Aram, I need you to run a number for me, find me a location" he gave Aram her number, and begged that she didn't change her phone. In a few minutes the agent came back to him "I sent you the location via text, it's in the middle of the woods. Do you know who it belongs to?" He knew, and so did Aram by now.

He started running to his car, and screamed in the phone "send backup to this location now, Aram. She is in danger"

"But... Sir... Are we talking about Elizabeth Reddington? How do you know her? Sir? Sir?"

Ressler had already hung up the phone when Aram asked, he didn't have time to explain to him how he knew Elizabeth Keen.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

When Ressler got there, the lights were dim. The cabin was haunting looking. It wasn't a 'homey' cabin like the one he had in PG county with his family, this cabin was straight out of a horror movie.

The FBI seemed to have made it just in time. "Agent Ressler, ready on three?" His co-worker, Meera, said beside him. He nodded and they then kicked the door open.

Luck would have it, Raymond Reddington, the concierge of Crime was standing right by the door. "Where's Kornish?" Ressler asked immediately. Meera, beside him, was probably in shock at the Concierge of Crime beside her. Nothing really surprised Ressler anymore, though.

"We've had a little incident." Reddington sighed, "Agent Keen needs medical attention." And Ressler's eyes immediately found Liz, who was behind Reddington in a wheel chair. Bruised and fragile she sat there with tear stained cheeks. Ressler bent down quicker than he could even process. His face finding her cheek, it was cold, and her pulse which was beating slowly.

"How did you get in here?" Meera asked from beside him, she lowered her gun as the rest of the team came in. Samar and the rest of the team started investigating.

"That's a pretty blouse." Reddington said putting his fedora on and walking away from the agents, leaving Meera shocked that it was him.

"Get a medic in here now!" Ressler yelled out in panic, her pulse was so slow. His raised voice seemed to raise it though, but that was because of anxiety, he didn't want her to be anxious, not around him. "It's all over now." he said in a softer voice. "It's over now. It's okay." He said calming her, his thumb caressing her skin as more tears fell down her cheeks. She sat in the chair, temporarily paralyzed from the stewmaker's drugs. He saw as it started to fade but her body still not functioning properly. "Everything's okay." he calmed her once more as she leaned into his chest.

The medics looked her over seeing no permanent damage other than emotional trauma and slight bruising. "Agent, would you like us to walk her to the ambulance?"

"No, I've got it." he said reaching down and helping Liz get on her feet. She was weak and wobbily and leaned most of her weight on him. She was so light. "You alright?" and she just nodded.

They made their journey to the ambulance and he slowly felt her sagging. She let out a strangled sob and threw herself into his arms. Clutching onto the lapels of his jacket the fabric around them she cried on his shoulder. He held her there and let her cry, "Shhh, It's okay." he whispered. The rest of the world seemed to have disappeared as she cried there in his arms. She felt so good in his arms. He hadn't held someone in so long and feeling the weight of her against him felt nothing more than bittersweet.


	4. Chapter 4

He walked into the diner and she was sitting there in her usual seat. She was chatting with Susie while sipping on a hot cup of coffee. It was the next morning, after the events with the Stewmaker. Liz looked remarkably well for having been through so much just the previous night.

She caught his eyes and gave him a small smile. He returned it and then Susie's face lit up, "Your friend's back!" she said to Liz, "How are you, hun?" Susie asked Ressler as he sat down across from Liz in the booth.

"I'm good, how are you?" he smiled and then looked to Liz for approval in talking to Susie, after the screamfest she gave him last time for talking with her.

"I'm well, I'm happy to see Lizzie here has a nice friend visiting her. She doesn't talk to enough people her own age and she needs a friend, in my opinion."

"Suz!" Liz laughed, scolding her older friend.

"What?" Susie threw her hands up to show she meant no harm, "Alright, what can I get for you, hun?"

"Uh...I'll have coffee, black please, and I'll have an omelette. I'm starving." He smiled, "Thank you."

"C'ming right up, hun, and Lizzie, darling, the usual for you?"

"Yes, ma'am. Make sure Johnny makes ours!" Liz smiled to Susie as she walked away.

"So," Liz shrugged.

"How are you feeling?" Ressler asked with concern.

"Tired, sore...but that's really it." she sighed, "I feel like I've been hit with a truck." she laughed.

"Well that's probably from whatever stuff that creep did to you." Ressler scoffed, "That never should have happened. I should have gotten to him quicker. Lorca just threw us off-"

"Ressler, it's fine. Really." She reached across covering his hand with her own, reassuringly. "Now let's talk about the next case."

Susie brought over their breakfast and coffee as they talked it through. The omelettes were amazing. Best he's ever had.

He paid close attention while she gave him some other names, and details of everything they would need. It was easy collaborating with her. They had a good rhythm, good sync.

By the time they were finished, their work collaboration had turned into a relaxing and friendly conversation.

"My boss is pressing me to bring you in, you know?" he commented, his mouth full of ice cream Suzie brought them. She clicked her tongue and shook her head.  
"Not yet. no." it was all she said, and then ate another spoon full of ice cream.

"Why not? Don't you want a fresh start? Don't you want to get rid of Reddington and have a new chance? With the help you are giving us we can cut you a good deal, you may not even serve time. You can come as a consultant. Have your life back." she just looked at him, and he could see in her eyes how much she wanted all he was describing her. But then she shook her head again in denial.

"I can't." It was as if she wanted to tell him something. "Reddington isn't the problem."

He remembered how Reddington was there when they got to her and the Stewmaker, and how he never even tried to get to him.

"What was Reddington doing there with the Stewmaker?" he asked, expecting her not to answer. Surprisingly, she did.

"They had unfinished business. That's why the Stewmaker got to me. To lure him in."

"Is he your father?" he remembered something about Aram commenting her name was in reality Elizabeth Reddington.

"Don't ask about my father." she said, and he decided to change the tactics.

"Who is Keen? It's not your maiden name, is it?" She put her spoon down, knowing that he wouldn't stop before she gave him something.

"No. I was married, once. Tom Keen, was his name. He's dead now."

"What happened? Reddington?"

"Will you cut with this obsession with Reddington for one second? No. It wasn't him. It was something else. Something you feds have no idea exist."

"Tell me, then." she seemed like crying, she didn't want to tell him. He took her hand on his and squeezed it a little. their eyes met and he could see in her watery eyes how much she needed someone to trust.

"C'mon. let's go" he put some money on the table and took her hand, leading her out of the diner towards his car.

"I'm not getting into an FBI's agent's car." she said, and he took his badge out and put it inside the glove compartment.

"I'm not an FBI agent now. I'm Don. c'mon."

"hiding your badge does not change who you are" she said, but she got inside the car anyway. He went to the driver's seat, turned the car on and then drove away.  
They drove in silence for 30 minutes until she finally asked where they were going.

"Somewhere safe. Far. A place where you can tell me what you need to tell me without fear." she took a deep breath, torn between trying to escape and letting him take her wherever he was taking her, because deep inside she wanted to tell him everything.

It took another 30 minutes for them to get to an old cabin, on the top of a hill.

"Where are we?" she asked as she stepped out of the car.

"It's my family's old cabin. there's no one here. let's go inside." he opened the door and she walked in, observing everything while he went around the house to turn the power on.

He had left the lights of the car on, so sehe could see that it was nearly empty, only with a sofa and a coffee table in the center of the place, and a few photo frames on the mantelpiece. she took one of the photos and recognized him with four more people in a picture laughing. The lights went on and after a few minutes he came inside, after turning the car off and closing the door.

"Is this your family?" she showed him the frame, and he came closer. he grazed a finger on the glass before taking it from her and placing it back on the mantel.

"yes. they are dead now" he said, and then lead her to the sofa, clearly closing the conversation. they sat and then, still holding her hands, he asked.

"Ok. You're safe now. Not many people know about this place. Tell me what's going on. Who's Reddington? and why can't you surrender to the FBI?"

She looked down at their intertwined hands and sighed, "I have no idea where to even begin." she shrugged. "Reddington's my biological father. He's a criminal, I know. He's a retired criminal, now, but that's besides the point." she said, her eyes now looking at him, "He was my world growing up. Some days I felt like I raised myself when he wasn't there...when he was on "business", that's what he'd leave to go do his "job"." she scoffed.

"Where is he now?" Ressler asked.

"Are you asking me that as an agent...or as a friend?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Liz, I told you." he smiled and squeezed her hand, "Here, we're friends, okay."

She looked down at her lap and smiled, she looked back up and breathed, "He lives in a secluded apartment in Bethesda...with his cat." she laughed out loud and Ressler couldn't help but laugh as well.

"A cat? The concierge of crime seriously has a cat?" he laughed.

"Do people actually call him that?" She laughed, "Do they have a weird nickname for me too?"

"Not that I know of, no." they laughed, and then their laughs faded. He knew there was more to it.

"Ok, so if your father is retired... Who's doing everything on his name?" he asked, but truly, he already knew. Her face just confirmed it. "Why, Liz? You were going places, FBI profiler. What happened?"

She looked at him, reluctant. She squeezed his hands a little bit more, they were sweaty and warm.

"There's this organization. They call themselves the Cabal. They have been after my father for years. They are the reason he's retired now, but also they are the reason why his name and reputation cannot die. When I joined the FBI, my father was my biggest supporter. He knew someday I would have to hunt him, but he didn't care. He planned to surrender someday. But then they knew that his daughter was going to join the FBI, and they couldn't allow it."

"Why not?" Her face showed no signs of it being good news.

"You're not gonna like it. I don't think you should know. I'll be putting you in danger as well."

"Please, Liz, tell me" he released her hands to cup her face, and she leaned on his touch, breathing in as they got closer. she looked into his eyes and decided to tell.  
"The Cabal is deep inside the federal agencies. FBI, CIA, they are everywhere. High positions, positions of power."

He released her to put his hand on his forehead, shocked with that information. She knew she shouldn't have told him. Now it was too late. He could do two things. Believe her, or not. She wanted him to believe her.

"How... what? are you sure?"

"That's why I'm not an FBI profiler anymore, Ressler. I had to go undercover and take my father's name to hide behind. They framed me for murder, terrorist attacks. Do you remember that bombing that happened at the OREA offices? The responsible was never caught. They framed me. My husband died because of that. their agents, CIA and FBI agents, worked together to hunt me down as a terrorist. That's when my father killed me, together with Tom, and I took over his name. I'm Raymond Reddington now, and Elizabeth Reddington is dead."

He remembered seeing some files saying that she was dead, but it was not certain, so he never considered it. It was all so confusing, so shocking, he didn't know what to do.

"Why come to me then? How do you know I'm not Cabal?"

She sighed, "Reddington has done his research...too much research." she shakes her head. "I love my father...but he's very protective of me." she sighs again. "My husband...he was hired by my father to protect me but we fell in love. Come to find out after he died, he was hired to fall in love with me by one of my father's enemies. It didn't make his death any less painful...it actually made it more painful." she stopped talking for a moment; she needed a break before she started crying or something.

"It's okay," he said soothingly. She looked over to him and believed him.

"I was angry at my father for a while, I blamed him a lot for this mess; my husband...my life...his enemies, but I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for him. His motives have never been anything but pure." she nodded, "I am so grateful for that. And I'm so grateful he found you." she slipped out, "Oh...I didn't mean-"

He laughed, "It's okay, Liz." he smiled, "I'm grateful he brought you to me, too. Although, I'm a little creeped out thinking about how much he could know about me." they both laughed, "How much do you know about me?"

"Not much. I told him to save the details partially so I could get to know you myself." she said shyly, "He said I needed a friend anyways, so I guess that worked." she playfully poked his arm.

"So, what now? Do you know who they are, the Cabal?" she sighed as she knew he would try to help. They had to go slow, or else the Cabal would kill them all.

"Yes, and no. it's not for you to know, at least not now. There's a reason we created the blacklist. We need to get to these names first, they will help us build the case against the Cabal. Remember they are important people."

"So how am I supposed to know who to trust?" he asked, annoyed that she wasn't going to tell him everything.

"You don't trust anyone. Trust me." she said, and then laughed at the irony. "Yeah, don't trust all your bosses and role models, trust the criminal instead. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought you in" He interrupted her by holding her chin.

"Hey. I'm in. Don't worry about me. I trust you" she smiled and looked into his eyes, relieved that she had made a good choice. He was the one.

"Just follow the lead and find Wujing, and Gina Zanetakos. They hold the next pieces we need." She said, and then looked up, feeling tired. "Are we going to sleep here?" She looked around to see if there was a bedroom or something. She found a door ajar with what looked like a bed inside.

"Well, if you want to. You can take the bed, it's right there" he pointed at the door she was looking at.

"What about you?" she asked as she stood up and stretched her arms, tired.

"I'll stay here on the couch, don't worry" he opened a faint smile, sad that he would spend the night on that old and not so comfortable sofa. She chuckled.

"Thanks, Ress. For everything."

"Don't mention it. Have a good night" he said, looking up to her from the couch as he leaned on it, trying to find a good position.

* * *

 **A/N - Hey guys! Please tell us what you think of the story so far. I know We've been taking a bit long to update (my fault - Sonia) so tell what you think to motivate us to write faster xD**


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